Our Spring Concert is approaching fast – and with it the end of another busy season! Mozart’s Solemn Vespers and the Rutter Requiem will provide a satisfying concert, and will sound splendid in the fine acoustic of the Church of the Holy Rude. For our audience, it is guaranteed to be an enjoyable evening. For the choir, the music is quite challenging, given the very different styles of the two pieces – so please watch and listen to Eric!
We will be singing at the opposite end of the church from usual. This will be a new experience for us, so please be patient over the seating arrangements, which will no doubt require some adjusting on the day. Remember also that the sound you will hear when singing from this position may not be quite what you are used to within the Holy Rude. Again, please be alert, and listen to what is going on around you. On a more positive note, concerts in the Holy Rude have a special warm feeling about them. It is without doubt a good place to sing – so I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy the evening.
Looking ahead to the 2008-2009 season, Eric already has plans for our next Spring Concert. The programme is likely to include Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, and Lux Aeterna, a work by the contemporary American composer, Morten Lauridsen. I heard this piece recently, and although it is modern, it is harmonious. I am certain you will like it!
Stirling City Choir is at present in good heart - and is also financially fit! However, our great difficulty in finding tenors continues….and indeed a few more basses would not go amiss either! Please think very seriously about this problem….Do you know any men who sing – or have sung – in other choirs, and who might like to sing with us as well? - or even instead!
In trying to address this problem, please remember that the choir is YOUR choir. We all enjoy the singing – but for the choir to continue its success and to progress, more active participation is needed. To involve you more directly, we plan to give you an opportunity early next session to let us know your views on the choir – including how it is run, rehearsals, programme choice, venues, and other topics relevant to the ongoing development of Stirling City Choir.
2007-2008 has been another exciting season, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Eric, Chris, and all my fellow committee members for their dedication and hard work on the choir’s behalf. Have a good summer! I look forward to seeing you all again in September – along, I hope, with all those new singers you have found!
Ian Richardson
Although it was a great success in all other respects, ticket sales for our recent Charity Concert were down on the previous year. This in turn led to a reduction in our profit by a few hundred pounds, which meant that the beneficiaries – St Columba’s Charity Fund, and Marion Wyllie whom we sponsor – received a lesser sum than before.
We are fortunate in that our Christmas Concert in the Church of the Holy Rude tends to “sell itself”. Clearly, people enjoy coming to hear Christmas music in such a lovely setting. We definitely need, however, to “push” the tickets a bit more for our other concerts. In the next few weeks, please make as much effort as you can to sell your quota of tickets for the Spring Concert, to ensure that it is a financial success.
Thanks are once again due to Eric for coming early on Tuesday evenings to run the sight-reading class, and also to Kathleen for training the ladies’ Chamber Choir, which performed so beautifully at the Charity Concert. We are very grateful to Eric and Kathleen for all their extra effort and commitment.
This will lighten the load of the Librarian a little. Claire Whewell, our new Librarian, has kindly agreed, however, to continue to order scores for those who prefer to buy them. This will ensure that everyone is using the same version of the score.
At the time of writing, we have not yet fixed dates or venues for next year’s events. This will be discussed at our next Committee Meeting, and bookings will hopefully be made after that. We will let you know the proposed programme of dates, venues etc in the “Summer Letter” which you will receive as usual in August. If, however, there is anything you feel you need to know before that, please get in touch with Anne via any of the contact details below.
Our opening meeting in September will once again be part social, part rehearsal – with (free!) wine, soft drinks, and crisps etc.
Suggestions, comments, or articles are welcome, though contributions may have to be edited. Any items for the next edition should be submitted to Anne Montgomerie